# pornocracy

> English word · Proper noun · IPA /pɔːˈnɒkɹəsɪ/

## Definitions
1. The period of the papacy known as the saeculum obscūrum (Latin for “dark age”), and also as the “Rule of the Harlots”, which began with the installation of Pope Sergius III in 904 and lasted for sixty years until the death of Pope John XII in 964, during which time the popes were strongly influenced by the Theophylacti, a powerful and corrupt aristocratic family.

## Etymology
Probably borrowed from German Pornokratie, first found in the writings of Austrian-born Biblical scholar Alfred Edersheim (1825–1889), from Ancient Greek πόρνη (pórnē, “female prostitute”) + -κρᾰτῐ́ᾱ (-krătĭ́ā, “-cracy”, suffix indicating “government, rule”); analysable as porno- + -cracy.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/pornocracy